Thursday, February 18, 2010
What a great week, short, but great! Working with SUNY Delhi class with Robert Braathe, sharing concepts of business sustainability to the Small Business Strategic Alliance, developing proposals and management training, BRNG Luncheon, working on a book project with Melange Press, and facilitating personal life planning. Great week!
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Friday, February 5, 2010
Business – It’s Complicated (and personal)
The following was published in the Ballston Journal - Business Boardroom:
Business is complicated. That is not news or a surprise to any of us who have been in business for any length of time. It really does not matter what size business you are in, or what your industry is, it is complicated. For those of us who are small business owners, we have to do all the “jobs” in the business, or we need to manage the outsourcing of those tasks we do not like to do, or we are not equipped to do. For those of us who are in organizations of any size, we also know that it is complicated, primarily due to the very thing that was highlighted in the movie “It’s Complicated” with Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin, and Steve Martin. Unfortunately, small business complications are not a popular comedy, but a stark reality.
Business is complicated by nature, because it is about personal relationships and people are complicated. Even for small business owners, there is the mix of your own personality and relationships with those of your customers, suppliers, and the interrelationships with your own personality. For larger organizations, add the dynamic of employees with those of customers and suppliers.
So, what then separates the “great” from the “good” from the “just making it”? If business is complicated for all businesses, regardless of size, what really can be the discriminating factors in success? What can you do as a business leader to ensure that you and your organization are achieving the level of success that you really want?
To find the answers, I believe the first place to look is inside. Inside yourself that is. We have all heard it said that “Attitude determines Altitude,” “You get what you are looking for,” etc. I believe these are more than just trite statements or phrases. There is real truth in them, yet for many of us, we lose sight of these simple truths. If we think of the world as abundant, then we will look and act as though there is plenty to go around and we will share that with others. If we look at the world as scarce, then we will tend to hoard and not share.
So what does this have to do with the way we run our businesses and organizations? Answer the following questions truthfully to get closer to your inner self:
• Do we try to hoard information and only let out small bits just to get other things we can hoard? Or do we share information and let people see all the details they need to be fully successful themselves and at the same time make us more successful?
• Is our attitude one of real appreciation for others and what their role is in our business?
• Do we share that appreciation with them in ways that are really meaningful to them?
Psst: The only way we will know that is to be really observant and listen to them with open ears and minds.
I believe that is one of the many messages in the movie “It’s Complicated.” It appears that in their marriage, Jane and Jake didn’t have a common vision and set of objectives for themselves as individuals or as a family. As the movie unfolds, each had come to realize more about what they wanted for themselves, and thus could examine what they really appreciated in each other. I won’t say more about the movie, as I don’t want to give it away. The point is that appreciation is directly linked to attitude, and we do tend to find what we are looking for. If we look with appreciation, we see more positively. If we are more appreciative with our view of customers, employees, and suppliers, we tend to get more abundant results. If we share information to enable each to have a richer experience in their respective roles, we tend to get better results. An appreciative approach strengthens the bond of a relationship.
Think for a minute or two about some of your experiences. In those experiences where you felt really appreciated, where people really took the time to get to know you, or explain how you were an important part of their business, most likely you felt very good about being part of their business. I expect you told others and may have even gone out of your way to contribute to the success of the organization/business even more.
On the other hand, think about a different experience where you were “just a number” or “just a part of the process.” In this case, I expect you felt neutral or negative about the experience and did not go out of your way to do any extra to contribute to the organization’s/business’s success.
I have many experiences and stories to relate from both perspectives, and as a business leader, I like to share the positive stories of how people and organizations grow through appreciation. My colleagues and I, along with a number of others, call that Appreciative Leadership, and it comes from looking at all aspects of business with a view and focus of appreciating what everyone does.
A very successful businessman and friend of mine was a veterinarian. When we first met, he was a self proclaimed “Seagull Manager.” He would fly into the office making all kinds of noise and activity, then crap on everyone and fly out. You can imagine what that office looked like. Then he realized the impact that an Appreciative Leadership approach could make. He took the time to work with each of his employees so they understood the very important and even critical role they played in the total business success. He was able to link their individual success to the business success and show the reciprocal affect on their individual success. He made a fundamental shift in his practice and it was definitely reflected in the positive impact on the top and bottom lines of his business. It was all about personal relationships and truly appreciating everyone and what they could contribute.
By taking the time to understand the relationships and appreciating and reinforcing the positive, the real art of business becomes just a little less complicated and certainly more enjoyable for everyone involved. In the end, business may still be complicated, but with appreciation and understanding by all, it will be more understood, easier to manage, and certainly more fulfilling.
Business is complicated. That is not news or a surprise to any of us who have been in business for any length of time. It really does not matter what size business you are in, or what your industry is, it is complicated. For those of us who are small business owners, we have to do all the “jobs” in the business, or we need to manage the outsourcing of those tasks we do not like to do, or we are not equipped to do. For those of us who are in organizations of any size, we also know that it is complicated, primarily due to the very thing that was highlighted in the movie “It’s Complicated” with Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin, and Steve Martin. Unfortunately, small business complications are not a popular comedy, but a stark reality.
Business is complicated by nature, because it is about personal relationships and people are complicated. Even for small business owners, there is the mix of your own personality and relationships with those of your customers, suppliers, and the interrelationships with your own personality. For larger organizations, add the dynamic of employees with those of customers and suppliers.
So, what then separates the “great” from the “good” from the “just making it”? If business is complicated for all businesses, regardless of size, what really can be the discriminating factors in success? What can you do as a business leader to ensure that you and your organization are achieving the level of success that you really want?
To find the answers, I believe the first place to look is inside. Inside yourself that is. We have all heard it said that “Attitude determines Altitude,” “You get what you are looking for,” etc. I believe these are more than just trite statements or phrases. There is real truth in them, yet for many of us, we lose sight of these simple truths. If we think of the world as abundant, then we will look and act as though there is plenty to go around and we will share that with others. If we look at the world as scarce, then we will tend to hoard and not share.
So what does this have to do with the way we run our businesses and organizations? Answer the following questions truthfully to get closer to your inner self:
• Do we try to hoard information and only let out small bits just to get other things we can hoard? Or do we share information and let people see all the details they need to be fully successful themselves and at the same time make us more successful?
• Is our attitude one of real appreciation for others and what their role is in our business?
• Do we share that appreciation with them in ways that are really meaningful to them?
Psst: The only way we will know that is to be really observant and listen to them with open ears and minds.
I believe that is one of the many messages in the movie “It’s Complicated.” It appears that in their marriage, Jane and Jake didn’t have a common vision and set of objectives for themselves as individuals or as a family. As the movie unfolds, each had come to realize more about what they wanted for themselves, and thus could examine what they really appreciated in each other. I won’t say more about the movie, as I don’t want to give it away. The point is that appreciation is directly linked to attitude, and we do tend to find what we are looking for. If we look with appreciation, we see more positively. If we are more appreciative with our view of customers, employees, and suppliers, we tend to get more abundant results. If we share information to enable each to have a richer experience in their respective roles, we tend to get better results. An appreciative approach strengthens the bond of a relationship.
Think for a minute or two about some of your experiences. In those experiences where you felt really appreciated, where people really took the time to get to know you, or explain how you were an important part of their business, most likely you felt very good about being part of their business. I expect you told others and may have even gone out of your way to contribute to the success of the organization/business even more.
On the other hand, think about a different experience where you were “just a number” or “just a part of the process.” In this case, I expect you felt neutral or negative about the experience and did not go out of your way to do any extra to contribute to the organization’s/business’s success.
I have many experiences and stories to relate from both perspectives, and as a business leader, I like to share the positive stories of how people and organizations grow through appreciation. My colleagues and I, along with a number of others, call that Appreciative Leadership, and it comes from looking at all aspects of business with a view and focus of appreciating what everyone does.
A very successful businessman and friend of mine was a veterinarian. When we first met, he was a self proclaimed “Seagull Manager.” He would fly into the office making all kinds of noise and activity, then crap on everyone and fly out. You can imagine what that office looked like. Then he realized the impact that an Appreciative Leadership approach could make. He took the time to work with each of his employees so they understood the very important and even critical role they played in the total business success. He was able to link their individual success to the business success and show the reciprocal affect on their individual success. He made a fundamental shift in his practice and it was definitely reflected in the positive impact on the top and bottom lines of his business. It was all about personal relationships and truly appreciating everyone and what they could contribute.
By taking the time to understand the relationships and appreciating and reinforcing the positive, the real art of business becomes just a little less complicated and certainly more enjoyable for everyone involved. In the end, business may still be complicated, but with appreciation and understanding by all, it will be more understood, easier to manage, and certainly more fulfilling.
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